State industries minister Partha Chatterjee today announced that the department has bagged industry proposals from 25 firms even as the Indian economy has contracted due to Covid. He reiterated that the Trinamul Congress government is ready to welcome the Tata Group to the state.

Though 13 years back the small car project of Tata Group was forced out of the state following the land acquisition movement in Singur, Chatterjee said the movement was against the selection of land where the project was proposed and not against the group.

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“If the Tata Group wants to invest in the state then they are welcome. They are not our enemy. In Singur the small car factory was proposed on multiple-crop farmland that was forcibly taken from the farmers,” said Chatterjee. “The Tata Group has many businesses in West Bengal and we will be very happy if they go for expansion. We already have the presence of Tata Metaliks, one Tata Centre beside the TCS here among others. But if they are willing to come up with big-ticket investments in manufacturing or other sectors, there is no problem,” he added.

After coming to power in 2011, the Trinamul government had said that it was open to the idea of setting up industries in Singur but not without securing the interest of farmers. Later, the state Assembly passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill 2011.

Chatterjee assured to extend all help for setting up industries in the state through the government will not allow land acquisition. The firms have to buy land but the government is considering increasing the conversion time to help ease the process, he said.

Asserting that employment generation was the priority of the government, Chatterjee said the government wants industries where jobs can be created. He said that around 200 new investments have been received. Chatterjee said the WBIDC has received investment proposals from 25 firms which was a significant indication of the trust shown in the TMC government. A majority of these investments are from small scale and medium industries, he added. Flipkart today donated medical equipment to the state health department.